NLC: Path of a Legend V2
by Kami No Doujutsu
Summary: Things don't always go how they are supposed to. Naruto is a testament to this as he is taken in by a legend known to everyone throughout all of the Elemental Nations. Follow as he grows and transforms from a kid with a dream to the strongest shinobi alive throughout this amazing journey!


Chapter 1: Genesis of a New Naruto

**AN: /**** Hey guys, this story is going to be extremely different from the first Path of a Legend. In the first version, I had Naruto trained by Madara. That's not the case in this version. I understand now, after reading the recent chapters that Madara is 100% evil. And if I had him teach Naruto, then Madara would've done anything in his power to manipulate him into his loyal servant. I also thought about how he is the main villain and having taught Obito would come into play and it wouldn't have worked out, so! I'm changing who's going to train him, (Yes that means no Sharingan Naruto… or does it XD.) And I'm going to take my time in doing this too, making as many chapters as I can. I'll probably give you guys about five to six, or so chapters of his training, depending on how my plans on how he is trained vary and then we'll move on to the storyline and so forth. Also, there are other NLC Stories that I have planned to start on; some will be crossovers that I'm sure that you guys will love so watch out for those XD. Anyway, I know you are tired of reading me babble on so without further ado… HAJIME! **

"Normal voice"

'_Thinking voice_'

**"Summoning/Bijuu voice"**

**"**_**Summoning/Bijuu thinking voice"**_

Disclaimer: _Kami no Doujutsu does not have any claim over Naruto, and/or any other sources what so ever, except for the jutsu and characters of his creativity. Viewers' discretion is advised, thank you. _

◊Act 1: Training of an Uzumaki◊

Chapter 1: Genesis of a New Naruto

* * *

"Get back here Naruto!"

"Ha, ha; you're going to have to be faster than that!" A small boy only eight years old ran across the rooftops with two cans of paint on his sides, with a brush. He had a mop of messy, sun-kissed hair, tan skin, and a pair of bright cerulean eyes. His attire consisted of a black T-shirt under a dark orange vest, and wore navy blue shorts with matching standard sandals. This young boy was Naruto Uzumaki. He's a very spirited and mischievous fellow who annoys most of the village with his infamous pranks. Although he doesn't show it, he's very smart and resourceful. The men chasing him scowled in frustration as the small figure grew more distant and farther from them.

"Why you little; get back here and face the consequences of defiling the Hokage Mountain!" One of the Chūnin yelled at him in pursuit. Naruto looked back with a grin plastered on his face reaching cheek to cheek. Not even five minutes before-hand he had performed his biggest prank as of now. The young eight year old had painted all over the sacred mountain that displayed the heads of the great and legendary four leaders who had held the mantle as Hokage in Konoha. How nobody spotted him in the act, was clueless to him, but it was only after four minutes of him admiring his work, did the shinobi of the leaf were on alert.

"Ah shut your traps, you have to catch me before you can punish me." He taunted. He let loose one of the paint cans strapped to his waist as one of the Chūnin got a little close for his comfort. The end result of that was it hitting dead smack in his face and him landing in a crowed of civilians. He laughed to himself as he glanced from the corners of his right eye. How simple minded could they be to fall for his antics; obviously they were older than him. Thinking about it a little more, it made him pout as he thought more to himself.

'_Man, I thought they would be more fun. Sigh I guess I'll end my fun for today and head back to the academy.'_ He made one more leap before halting completely, making his pursuers do the same. They looked at each other before turning their heads facing Naruto as one of them broke the silence.

"So, you've finally decided to stop eh? Now let's head to the Hokage's office and explain what happened." Naruto scoffed and blew his tongue at him.

"Sorry I have things to do and talking to the old man is just not one of them at the time. But how about this, you three can let me go and we can all leave happily." He smiled cheerfully using his eight year old adorable charm. Sadly, they didn't buy it and dashed at him. He skillfully unhooked his tool belt and ultimately spilled the slippery paint on the roof forcing them to leap. But what they didn't see coming was the cans that Naruto used in his prank to come flying at them. The cans slammed into their faces.

"Alright, it landed right on his head. No-one can stop Naruto Uzumaki, the next Hokage; believe it!" After his speech, he immediately left the scene, hopping from roof to roof before landing by a picket fence just in time to hide from the Chūnin who had quickly recovered from his paint attack and dropped right in front of the fence.

"Where is he?"

"I don't know; he couldn't have gotten far." The ninja in the middle pointed at two areas. He was obviously the leader leading the search.

"You two fan out in those directions, I'll head this way."

"Yeah, we'll eventually find him. Let's go!" They all left with a quick leap in different directions clearly oblivious to our hero who was right next to them. He had used one of his tactics where he disguised himself with camouflage. Although it wasn't nearly as good as how professional Jōnin performed the attack and evade stealth tactic, it was good enough to fool them. He let go of his disguise, doing a small victory dance.

"Ha haa, man that was _way_ too easy! I mean, how dumb can they get; I was here the whole time and they never noticed." He laughed mid-sentence hunching over with tears. "But I guess seeing how they were facing the great Naruto Uzumaki; they never stood a chance to begin with. If the next Hokage lost to a bunch of idiots like them, it'd ruin the name!" He said continuing to boast to himself. But in the midst of it all, a figure stood behind him. It turned out to be a dark-skinned man dressed in the standard Konoha Chūnin attire. Naruto didn't feel his presence until he felt a hand clasp on his shoulder.

'_Oh no, I was caught! Man oh man oh man, I am doomed!_' Naruto thought to himself as he gulped in fear. This was something he hadn't anticipated and surely it cost him. He slowly turned his head to look at none other than his sensei, Iruka. He chuckled weakly.

'_Yep, I'm doomed.'_

"H-hey Iruka-sensei; long time no see?" Naruto yipped with a smile; he used his small adorable childish charm technique on his sensei. Iruka shook his head at his student, displeased by his actions. Naruto's face faulted before he started crying anime tears. "Aw, But I was just–"

"No buts Naruto, we're heading back to class, where you should've been in the first place. After class is over today, you're staying behind to clean up the mess you made of the Hokage monument as detention. This is on the Hokage's orders himself." Without any seconds to spare for Naruto to argue, Iruka had placed his hand firmly on Naruto's shoulder and used the _Substitution Jutsu,_ teleporting both him and his mischievous student back to the academy. Making it to the classroom Naruto shrugged his sensei's hand off his shoulder and stomped his way up the aisle.

'_Dumb, stupid sensei, always ruining my fun, like seriously; how does he find me during my…' _He paused, snickering about the entire stunt he just pulled before continuing his thought, _'training time, hmm… I guess I'll ask him later. I bet he'll make me clean up my masterpiece.'_ He thought. Our young, troublemaking-hero came to a stop and sat down next to a boy just around his own age.

His hair was pitch-black. It was pulled back into a small but wild bushy-like tail. A peculiar thing about him is that he had earrings on both of his ears. He was donned in a grey-mesh shirt covered by a jacket that cuts off right above the biceps. The jacket itself had a green lining around it and present on both of his shoulders was his family's insignia. He had on brown pants and blue standard sandals. His name was Shikamaru Nara and was one of Naruto's best-friends.

"Hey Shikamaru, you look bored as ever."

The coal-haired boy responded in a bored fashion. "And… you look as energetic as usual. So… who did you prank this time?"

Naruto grinned before speaking. "Oh, I didn't prank anyone this time; actually I painted the Hokage Monument." He said buffing his chest out in pride. Shikamaru's eyes widened slightly as his mouth hung agape before he sneered, closing his mouth.

"Sigh that sounds exactly like you; see if I had skipped class I would've sat at my favorite place and relax and watch clouds." Shikamaru turned to a kid next to him and asked. "What would you have done, Choji?" Choji was a brunette haired boy who was slightly chubby for his age. He always had a bag of chips to munch on. He answered, munching down on his chips.

"Mm, I'd probwabwy go to that BBQ restawant down by the center pwaza."

"I would've walked by the kennel playing fetch with Akamaru here." Another friend of the three kids said. His name was Kiba Inuzuka of the Inuzuka family. He wore a heavy gray jacket. The most noticeable thing that stood out about him was the brown mane that made up the hood and the small white puppy that slept on his head. Akamaru was Kiba's familiar and they always were together.

All four of them gazed ahead in front of them and day-dreamed about what they'd do. But those fantasies were short lived by the sound of Iruka's voice.

"And that is how our shinobi program is set up; it's been practiced this way after the Third Great Shinobi War. Back then, due to the frequent deaths and the need for larger numbers of ninja, young kids around your age were sent out on the battlefield and ranked up faster gaining Chūnin level status, some even gained the rank of Jōnin. But since then we've attained peace. Now special news class, because of Naruto's tardiness today we'll have to practice the _transformation technique._ Alright everyone, line up and wait for further instructions." All the students groaned in displeasure while lining up. Naruto got up, just like everyone else and waited like everyone up for their turn.

But he got a couple of malevolent glances along the way as kids walked past to sit back down. Right next to him was a young blonde-haired girl, her hair was short but on the left side, it was pulled back by a red pin. She was dressed in a red sweater and a long purple skirt held together by a black sash.

"Naruto why do we have to get in trouble after you skip class and pull one of your pranks. You never think these things through, do you?"

"Pfft, I don't need you yapping in my ear, Ino."

"That's what you always say."

"Whatever, like I care," he spoke walking up to Iruka's desk. He stared at his sensei with a small frown on his face.

"Alright Naruto perform the transformation technique."

"Alright already," Naruto placed his hands in the ram, zodiac hand-seal and focused on releasing his chakra. Chakra was the source of power that the ninja all around the world used. By combining the physical and spiritual energies inside ones-self, they can make chakra. The amount of chakra a person can produce usually depends on that person as a whole.

In mere seconds an azure fluctuation of energy swirled around him as he clenched his eyes in deep thought. _'Hmm, focus, on releasing your chakra… good, there we go Naruto now, who should I transform into… aha! I could… n-no I won't do that. I guess one prank is enough for the day. Might as well try to be a good student as Old-man Hokage tells me to be.'_ He concentrated his chakra for a few more seconds then let out a shout.

"Transform!" A guff of white smoke surrounded Naruto; some of the students around him shielded their eyes waiting for it to clear out. When the smoke cleared out, present in where Naruto's place, was a much older man, well on in his seventies. He was a light-brown skinned man wearing a red and white robe. He had a ceremonial hat on his head that was white but at the tip was red and had the Japanese kanji for fire.

Iruka was slightly surprised by Naruto's transformation. _'Wow, he actually did something correct. The time that it took for him to gather chakra needs some improving but the outcome was pretty good.'_

"Good job Naruto, your transformation into Lord Third Hokage is very impressive, now if you'd put your focus into schoolwork as much as you did right there then I think you'd actually graduate with a good grade."

"Alright," Naruto shouted pumping his fist in the air, "Does this mean that I can go home after school when the bell rings?" He asked with hope ever-present in his voice – his eyes growing wider and wider.

"Nu-un, there's no way of getting out of detention, better luck next time Naruto." Iruka responded gaining a sad expression from the small boy.

"Aw man." Naruto went to his seat crying dramatically as tears flowed down his face and if you looked real closely, you could see a purple aura surrounding him as he dragged his feat. Iruka sighed at Naruto.

'_He has a _long_ way ahead of him.'_ He thought before putting his attention back into teaching the students after everyone had finished performing the transformation technique.

* * *

"Okay Naruto, clean up all of the mess you made." Iruka shouted to the small boy, who was currently cleaning up his prank on top of _Hokage Monument_. Naruto groaned. Shortly after school ended, Iruka took Naruto over to the monument and had him hook himself up with cables and clean the paint off the faces. It had been thirty minutes since he began. The day was almost over and it was noon now.

"Why do I have to do this?" Naruto asked.

Iruka said folding his arms, "You're the one who scribbled all over the faces of the Hokage! Now finish cleaning off the paint, you'll be here all night at the paste you're going." Naruto's face grew grim, the emotions that he hid under his façade, slowly surfaced. He scrubbed off the paint on the monument while mumbling under his breath.

"Like I care, it's not like I have anyone at home waiting for me." But Iruka heard him and flinched at the harsh tone behind the words. He knew well enough that Naruto lived alone with no parents. He knew what it felt like. Eight years ago, he lost his parents on the night that changed so many lives in Konoha. He looked up towards Naruto without saying anything. He knew that he had to make it up to the boy somehow. He

"Hey… Naruto"

"What" he replied to Iruka.

"As soon as you get done cleaning, I'll take you to Ichiraku Ramen, my treat." Naruto's expression did a complete 180 as his eyes grew just as much as a smile did.

"Alright, what are we waiting for let's do this!" He suddenly gained a burst of energy, swiftly using the bucket of water and splashed it across the surface of the face, scrubbing off the dried paint.

Both student and teacher sat at Naruto's favorite place to eat at, Ichiraku-Ramen. Amusingly it was the only thing he ate at all, besides the occasional fruits and veggies. It was part of the reason why he was shorter than majority of the males in class. Iruka stared at his student, watching him chow down on his third bowl of Miso Ramen and then glanced back at his wallet. He thought to himself, crying on the inside about how big the bill would be. _'This is going to hurt my wallet if he keeps eating the way he is. Oh well…'_

"Hey Iwuka-shenshei," Naruto mumbled, still eating his noodles at the same time, glancing at the waitress, Ayame, he hurried up and swallowed his food as she gave him a stern glare for not using manners. "Excuse me for my bad manners, but Iruka-sensei, how did you find me earlier? All the other ninja couldn't even sense me. Some of them were Jōnin, but you…"

"Oh that, well if you had stayed awake and listened to what I was teaching on Monday then you would've learned about the different types of abilities that Shinobi like me and one day you, will learn to use."

"He-he, sorry, it's not my fault your words put me to sleep." He laughed. He gave his teacher an innocent smile as Iruka glared at Naruto with noodles hanging from his mouth. Iruka slurped up his noodles and said.

"Well, then I'll give you a re-cap of what you were supposed to listen to. Each ninja in our village possess different abilities. One ninja might be able to spit out balls of fire from his mouth, and another might be able to make a shield of water. It all depends on that particular person. Now some ninja are born with special abilities that further advance their abilities in different aspects, like the different clans here in the village. For example we have: the Inuzuka, Yamanaka, Sarutobi, Senju, Aburame, Hyuuga, Uchiha, Nara, and Akamichi. Each of these prominent families possess unique abilities exclusive to themselves that made them the strongest here in Konoha."

"Hmm, I really didn't know that about the clans here, interesting; but you still haven't explained what these abilities are or yours for that matter." Naruto said.

"I was getting to that; now my ability isn't hereditary which means–"

"There are other ninja with your ability right?" Naruto asked. He received a nod from Iruka.

"Yes exactly, but mine is stronger than most. You see, I specialize as a sensory type ninja, meaning I have the ability to search for a person by their chakra signature and that's how I found you so fast."

"Amazing," Naruto blurted out-loud. He sat there somewhat astounded by what Iruka had told him. Sure, he knew that ninja could perform Ninjutsu, or ninja techniques, that utilized and manipulated the chakra and physically turn it into something else, but he never realized the full potential of what a person could do with chakra. "Iruka-sensei, do you think that I might be able to become a sensory type ninja?"

"Well that all depends if you have a natural ability for it. Seeing as how you single-handedly painted the faces of the Hokage without alerting anyone might mean that as a shinobi, you could specialize in infiltration. If that's the case, then you could make a good candidate for the Anbu Black-ops."

"Whoa, do you really think so?" _'Wow, does Iruka-sensei really believe in me this much?'_

"Yeah, I think you could make a great Anbu Black-ops member, but hey it's all up to you Naruto." Naruto stared at him with his mouth slightly open forming an 'O'. He then gasped as a thought came into his head.

"Iruka-sensei, where can I go to learn more about these abilities? I have to know, I have to know, I have to know!" Naruto shouted; fire burned through his eyes while grinning as if he had the most insane idea ever. Iruka couldn't help but sigh as sweat dropped.

"Besides from coming to class and actually _paying attention_ in class," He paused, emphasizing on his words, and it worked because Naruto chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head, "And going to the library in the Kano District, west from the Hokage Mansion." Iruka stated. Naruto cried in dissatisfaction.

"Aw, but I don't wanna got to the library and read from those stupid scrolls. It's _sooo_ boring!" Naruto whined.

"Do you want to become a great ninja and possibly a Hokage in the future?" Iruka asked sternly.

"Yeah but–" But Iruka cut him off mid-sentence, not having any of Naruto's behavior.

"Then you need to read and study those scrolls. Not only will you be prepared in class, but you'll also learn how some of the greatest ninja in our village and all over the world were able to utilize these techniques to highest degree. Naruto, do you think Lord Hokage got to his position by simply dreaming about it?" He asked. Naruto shifted his head, suddenly gaining an interest in the empty bowl of Miso Ramen. He grunted in response to the question.

"N-no."

"Exactly, he trained, studied the arts, fought to protect this village, and gained the title of Hokage. Look Naruto, to be able to gain the title of Hokage you have to walk a hard, long, and dangerous road to achieve great things because there are no short-cuts. The first step for you is to pay close attention in class, study, and try your best." Iruka said, ruffling his hand in Naruto's head. Naruto looked up at Iruka and nodded.

"Sigh, fine. I'll try my best. If it means me becoming closer to my dream, then I'm A-Okay."

After their meal together, Iruka took Naruto on home to his apartment where they said their goodbyes for the day before heading home himself. At the very moment Naruto was on his bed, thinking to himself, letting Iruka's words ruminate.

'_Man, today was like no other. The academy was the same as always, Shika, Cho, and Kiba were the same awesome friends I grew up with. Teuchi and Ayame-san always welcome me into their shop and Iruka… I know I can be a pain sometimes, doing pranks and stuff but he looks after me… like a brother.' _Naruto tilted his head on his pillow, facing the window. His eyes slowly closed, drifting into endless sleep.

* * *

It was 7:00AM, the rays of the sun washed over the village of Konoha, defining the sky's white and blue colors. It was truly a luminous sight to behold. But Naruto would easily disagree. As soon as the sunlight reached his window, he awoke with a scowl on his face.

"Ugh, dumb stupid sunlight. You just had to interrupt my precious sleep." He mumbled under his breathe. After slowly moving out of his bed he walked out of his room and headed to his bathroom. He stared at his hair for a couple of minutes before washing his face. It took about five minutes before he initially left his apartment. Since it was Saturday, there was no academy scheduled, so he had all the time in the world to do whatever as he pleased and since he took his sensei's words to heart, he went to the public library. Finally making it to the library, he took it in, seeing as it was his first time going to it.

"Whoa, this place is… is huge." He blurted. His outburst caused someone in the library to 'shush' him. He flinched at this before becoming quiet.

'_I guess one of the rules at a library is to be quiet.'_ He folded his arms browsing around, studying the different scrolls. The library was a large building. It had two floors, both filled with shelves that held different colored scrolls. Each shelf was big enough to contain thirty scrolls. But this was his first time ever entering a library. _'Now how am I supposed to find what I need?' _He thought to himself.

"Excuse me." Naruto heard. He also felt a light tap on his shoulder, making him turn around. Behind him was a young, pretty girl about seventeen years old. Her close really didn't stand out much; it was her light peach colored skin that brought out her dark, coal eyes. It was also her brunette hair, tied back into one ponytail that Naruto saw, that made him blush.

"Are you lost little one?" She asked. Still a little bewildered by her beauty, he settled with a nod. "Okay then, tell me what exactly you're searching for." Finally gaining the confidence, he spoke up.

"I was hoping to know where exactly I could find books on the bloodlines in Konoha, and some shinobi that made great names because of them." To say the least, she was slightly stunned. Most kids his age would come in to look up certain jutsu they could potentially learn. Not the history of past shinobi and bloodlines that he or she possessed. She shook her head and decided to help him. She guided him to the far right of where he entered and pulled out three scrolls for him to read. She then summarized the contents of each scroll.

"Oh okay, I get it now. So this one carries the info on known bloodlines here in Konoha, this scroll is history of the clans, and the last one is like a character summary right?" He asked, receiving a nod.

"Yep you're on dot."

"So if I have to get more scrolls, do I just come back to this area?"

"Yes," She pointed at the entire section of shelves. "This entire column of shelves holds all of our knowledge of the clans and shinobi. So if you want to learn more about a person, it'll be in this here section." He nodded, understanding what she was saying. He smiled though. He wasn't really expecting much help. Most people in Konoha outright ignored him and kept their distance from him. The only ones who didn't treat him with such disdain were his friends, Iruka, Teuchi, Ayame, the Third Hokage, and now this girl. "Is there anything else that I can help you with?" She asked.

"Um, no thanks; you were really a great help to me today." He said.

"It was no problem; it's my job to help people in need as a librarian." She said grinning at him. She was about to turn away, but he called out to her.

"Hey miss, what's your name. If I ever need help again I want to make sure I go to you for answers." She giggled at him.

"It's Nanami Tagayoshi." With that said she left, attending her duties as a librarian. He stared at the spot she stood, pondering.

'_Nanami Tagayoshi huh; She's a nice person.'_ He turned back to the scrolls, unfolding the straps holding the first one. "Well I better start reading. I have to start my career somehow."

Hashirama Senju, one of the greatest shinobi in the history of the Elemental Nations. He was best known for his: _Wood Style_ element, his incredible strength, and his ability to control the _Bijuu_. It was these things that led him to be called the Second God of Shinobi and be the first person granted with the title of Hokage. Then there was his brother, Tobirama Senju. He was different from his brother. Sure, his strength was at the same stature of his brother, his precise control over the water style element, and his IQ level. But unlike his brother, he was a stern leader, following traditional shinobi conduct. It was because of this, that today; the Shinobi system still lived on strong throughout the villages. He made sure that as a village filled with shinobi and civilians alike; they were able to business as such. He constructed basic economic guidelines, the educational academy program, and the security of the village.

"Amazing, I knew that the first and second Hokage were awesome people but…" He paused in mid-sentence, continuing on in his reading. He grabbed a book of a shelf, flipping a couple of pages into it, not really caring about the introduction and stopped.

"Madara…Uchiha. It says here that he and Hashirama fought a couple of times against each other. Their last battle was the most devastating. Due to their monumental power, they… completely decimated the entire canyon into what is known today as the Valley of the End. It is widely known that they were in an echelon, or class, of their own. Man, who knew reading could be so much fun. I'm gonna keep a couple of these scrolls and books for myself. Now time to hit the training field; can't feed off of bread alone." He stated while exiting the library with different scrolls and books in a bag. After reading about Madara, Hashirama, and other shinobi, he couldn't help but be hyped. It was people like them that inspired him to become great one-day. He hoped that becoming like them he could earn respect from his village and become Hokage. That motivation led him to push himself to the limits of his abilities.

Sunset had soon arrived. Around this time most of the villagers and ninja were in their homes either enjoying the comfort of their families or just relaxing. Naruto himself spent this time at his own training spot, dead tired from hours of endearment. Doing push-ups, sit ups, practicing the academy fighting style katas; all the necessities of which would help make him stronger. But his hardest challenge as of yet, was the technique that he just could not perform up to standard quality. This technique was a basic technique, one that allowed the user to make an illusionary clone of their self to trick enemies. This jutsu was taught to kids around Naruto's age, and most got it down easily, yet Naruto himself, simply can't do it. After doing his warm-ups he tried numerously to get it right.

"Ah, why can't I get this stupid jutsu right?" He yelled to himself, he seethed in frustration as he kept trying. "_Bunshin no Jutsu!"(Clone Technique). _Each time he initiated the jutsu, a small, white shriveled up version of himself popped into existence, looking half-dead before bursting in a cloud of smoke. Now Naruto is an energetic person. His stamina exceeds everyone in his entire class, making him the most likely person to survive and overwhelm an enemy, if he ever became an excelling ninja, however, even Naruto had his limits and he knew when he reached his limits. So not wanting to over-exert his body, he slowly dragged himself over to a nearby tree and slid down till he was comfortably rested against its base. He stared at his feet. It irritated him to no end that he couldn't perfect the Clone jutsu. He knew that if he couldn't overcome it, then there'd be no way he could become Hokage and giving in wasn't an option for him.

'_I have to finish the Clone jutsu as soon as possible; I don't want to be the class loser anymore. I know that if I try, I can at least score higher than average.'_ He paused in thought as he yawned, spreading his arms. It didn't dawn on him until now that it was very late out.

"Dang, I can't believe I lost track of time." He anticipated on what he should do. He didn't want to travel around the village at night, but if he stayed out in the open something could easily make quick dinner of him. "Hmm… alright," He shouted. "I guess I'll stay here. It can't hurt me much staying out here." He drifted into sleep right after those words. And after an hour of sleeping out in the night under the tree, the weather shifted from cool night breeze, into heavy silent rain. The tree provided cover for him and kept out most of the rain, but some still seeped through; it didn't help that winds started picking up, turning only what was heavy rain into a storm. A storm which the young boy surprisingly sleeping through, with the exception of the occasional sniffs and shivers he got. On the other hand, his body still was small and because of that the force behind the wind and because of the direction it was coming from, it was picking him up, if it had blown Naruto's helpless form away from his only protection to god knows where, then he'd be dead. Fortunately this wasn't the situation. The tree itself acted on its own. The roots moved in conjunction with each other and formed a dome around him and this wasn't the weird part either. The dirt beneath him acted as if it were quicksand, sucking his body slowly down into a dark cavern.

Up on the surface was a shadowy figure that stood where Naruto once laid at with his hand on the bark of the tree. His face was hidden under a hood and stood there only a couple of seconds before he too sunk underground where the child rested. He walked over to Naruto, studying him. He had his eyes on Naruto for quite some time now; he saw the boy come to the training ground numerous times and witnessed how vigorous his training routine was, for an eight year old boy. To stay the least, Naruto piqued the hooded figure's interest.

'_This boy, to have so much stamina, training for hour's non-stop; that's truly a feat for one such as him. I wonder how much Konoha has changed since I've last lived there.'_ He leaned forward and placed Naruto into his arms, walking him over to a futon for him to rest, pulling up cover. The man himself went to a human-sized hole that was made like a passage way from one room to another and walked out. Naruto shifted in his sleep, his face seemed relaxed and gentle – feeling the warmth of his surroundings.

* * *

Couple of Hours Later…

"Ah that was a really relaxing sleep, now off to the academy." Naruto chirped. He had his eyes closed as he groggily got out of the covers that felt oh-so comfortable before halting.

'_Wait, covers?'_ He rubbed his eyes, now fully awake. He took in his surroundings knowing full well that he wasn't at the training ground that he fell asleep at and he knew that he didn't just magically appeared here, but he did stop his critical thinking and imagined that it would be cool to just appear in places without effort. He shook his head of that though, now wasn't the time he told himself; he got back on track with his previous thought process and came up with the logical explanation that someone had brought him here. The main question however, is _who_ brought him to this foreign place.

'_Where am I?'_ He asked, slowly walking to the hallway making sure not to make much noise. He had to find out what exactly led whoever it was that brought him here, if he didn't find them dangerous that is. The hallway was fairly dark. The lighting was provided by small, dim-lit candles. Although it wasn't bright, it did give off just enough light for someone walking through to see where they were going. From what Naruto could tell, this was an underground base of some sort. He could also tell that it was well crafted and hollowed out too, even though he was eight years old. He was old enough to recognize art. The walls had precise, delicate hieroglyphics. To him, they were pretty-looking; the young boy couldn't help but admire them.

_'Sugoi! These pictures are… just amazing.' _He traced his hands around them feeling every crevice and vertex, gaining a smile in the process. The boy really did act weird sometimes, most kids didn't pay attention to art details as much, and as a matter of fact the same thing can be said for adults. I guess he just had a keen eye for the arts. But during his musing, a sound echoed through the tunnel-like hallway, alarming his attention to the noise. _'What was that?'_ He scrunched over on alert. Slowly, but swiftly tip-toeing to the direction from where her heard the sound. Making it all the way outside of the cavern, he then saw a figure shrouded in a black cloak sitting over a bonfire. From what he could tell, he was alone with this person in a forest, probably one of the natural habitats that Konoha had just on the outskirts surrounding the village, although that gave him hope that he could escape, anxiety held him firm in place not sure of what action he should take. If he took off, then surely this person would know.

'_Damn it what should I do? I have got to find a way to get outta here!'_ The young Uzumaki placed his fist in his hand, clenching it in frustration.

The figure, unknown to Naruto, already knew the boy was behind him. He smirked to himself finding Naruto's predicament amusing.

'_He heh, this boy is something else. Despite his age I'd have to say that he is very excellent at making his presence fairly unknown. In time he'll be an expert at it… maybe.'_ The man sighed to himself.

The long silence began to bore him and he didn't want to the boy to think of him as someone bad. The fear rolling off Naruto gave that indication that he needed to clear things up now.

"Looks like my guest is finally awake; come join me young lad" He spoke.

'_What the… how did he know I was here? Oh man this is bad.'_ Naruto unwillingly walked over to the man and sat on a log opposite to him. _'From what I could tell from his voice, he has to be old as Old Man Third. Maybe I can trick him and high tail it outta here, hehehe.'_ He deliberated his escape plan while mentally rubbing his hands, cackling like a mad man. Now, in order for him to deceive him, he had to choose his words right and wait for an opportunity.

"Where am I?" Naruto questioned the man. The man nodded assuming that this would be the first question that anyone would ask if they were held at an unknown place with someone you didn't know.

"Well young lad, we are in a forest a couple of miles outside of Konoha's southern gate. I found you on that training field you were using, sleeping during the storm last night." Naruto's eye's widened at the revelation of the news. The clouds were kind of heavy and looked like were going to burst with rain but he didn't pay attention to it much, sometimes the weather was like that and never sprouted any rain. TO be told that a storm happened really did surprise him.

"Wait; there was a storm last night?" He asked, getting a nod.

"Yep, and I have to say, it was quite a nasty storm too, what further amazed me was seeing a young boy such as yourself sleeping right through it. I couldn't just leave one as small and fragile as yourself out there in the cold and raining weather, so I brought you here myself." He laughed, making Naruto blush in embarrassment. The boy huffed and folded his arms turning away but at the same time became more relaxed.

'_Huh, I wasn't expecting that. That would explain why I'm in different close. He saved me.'_ Naruto shifted in his seat back to the man in front of him, gaining his attention.

'_Good, now he's less hostile towards me. This makes it easier for me to talk to him.'_

"If we're still near Konoha than that must mean you're a villager. Please tell me, who are you?"

"Oh… well excuse me, where are my manners," He chuckled. He removed his hood revealing his face present with years of age. His skin was rough but was a light caramel brown completion. His head was full of grey and black hair; it was neatly combed–back with two single locks framing his face. "My name is Hashirama Senju, Creator and Shodaime Hokage of the village you live in." A smile adorned his face, his eyes close making him look like and old man with the happiest life to look back on and reminisce for days. Well, Naruto didn't give him the reaction he had hoped for; instead he sat staring at the man claiming to be Hashirama with a blank expression on his face. Hashirama quickly changed from cheery to confuse as he spoke with concern for the young eight year old sitting in front of him.

"Are you alright there lad?" He waved his arms in front of Naruto's face; Naruto gained a smirk and snickered. Hashirama sighed in relief before he became curious to the boys sudden switch from silence to laughter.

"Ha-ha, there's no possibly way that an old, wrinkly-dried up raisin bag of bones like you is the First Hokage." He wheezed out, pointing at him. He fell back off the log rolling around on the ground laughing harder. The 'wrinkly old man' as Naruto called him, gained a tick-mark as he closed his eyes calming himself but couldn't focus as Naruto's laughter reigned over his ears.

"I wouldn't see exactly why it's so hard for you to believe that I am in-fact Hashirama Senju." He exclaimed seriously; Naruto climbed back on to the log looking dead at Hashirama after calming down. His eyes grew slightly as a grin found its way on his face.

"Wait, you're not serious about saying that you are the First Hokage are you?"

"Yes I'm a hundred percent serious. I built Konoha with my blood and sweat." Naruto wasn't pleased with this answer and lost his expression in full.

"But the First Hokage died with Makarer Ubida–"

"Madara Uchiha," Hashirama corrected, Naruto grunted at being interrupted but nodded towards him as the man did help him in pronunciation of the legendary Uchiha equal in stature to that of the First.

"Yeah that guy! If you are who you said you are then how on earth are you still alive?" Naruto shouted. There was no possible way that this man was one of his idols, the man who built Konoha and became a legend known to all throughout the Elemental Nations. It wasn't possible, right?

"Sigh, well in actuality, I really don't know that well on how I'm alive as well." He nervously said, sheepishly scratching the back of his head; Naruto sweat-dropped at him comically.

'_Yeah there's no way that this old nut could be a past Hokage. He's too dumb.'_ He noted. Hashirama toned down his laughing and continued his story.

"After my intense battle with Madara, I was on the verge of death and I wanted to get back to Konoha. I barely had any chakra at my disposal and I was bleeding out. Seeing as I had that much blood around me I used what little chakra I had led and did a jutsu that only I and my brother knew at the time called _Ketsueki-Bunshin no Jutsu.(Blood Clone Technique)_ and had it take me home before I passed out. But when I came to, I was here in this forest and immediately discovered that it held healing probabilities that allowed me to heal and recover, due to my connection with nature." He spoke, and to prove himself he channeled his chakra to his hand. The forest reacted to him; tree roots sprouted from the ground and surrounded him. The reaction he got from Naruto was priceless. He was flabbergasted at what he had seen, his mouth agape opening and closing like a fish out of water.

'_T-there's n-no way! He really is…'_

"He heh, so you finally realized it now huh? Good, now I never asked this until now but what's your name young lad?" Naruto was hesitant from answering but forced his shock down with a gulp.

"N-Naruto Uzumaki, Lord First Hokage." Naruto got off the log and bowed his head. He felt ashamed for not realizing that the old man in front of him was the first leader of Konoha and how he disrespected the man. "Please forgive me." He asked. The old Senju laughed at Naruto, gaining a gasp from the small boy.

"Raise your head Naruto; I'm not in my old position as leader of the village for you to be bowing to me. I never liked formalities back then and I still don't." He stated. Naruto did what he was told to and lifted his head up and smiled. Hashirama examined the boy.

'_Ah, so this one is a relative to my beloved wife Mito, I'm well aware of the fact that she's more than likely at rest now. Which brings me to question?'_

"So Naruto-boy, tell me about how the village is fairing now-a-days and about yourself." He asked. Naruto looked on in confusion at the old legend.

"Huh? Wait, why haven't you been back in the village?" He asked.

"Oh I didn't finish my story now did I? Hahahaha." He laughed. Naruto face palmed at the Hokage. Old age was really getting to him, losing train of thought like that. "After figuring out that this forest healed me I soon left and tried to head back to the village. I knew that it was weeks after my full recovery and that my brother had to have been handed the mantle of the Nidaime Hokage but still, I wanted to see my family and the people I swore to protect and let them know that I was okay." He paused. The emotions started to surface as he began to relive the memory, garnering a sorrowful expression.

"W-well why didn't you, you were healed and back at full heath right?"

"Not exactly Naruto-boy. When I left the forest for the first time I noticed that soon that something was off. I began to feel sicker and started puking out blood and my old battle wounds began to appear. You see the forest's natural healing properties only sustain my wounds as I'm here and revert me back to health, but each time I back out I regain those wounds that were inflicted on me by my deceased friend."

"So, that means you're stuck to this forest." Naruto mumbled, but Senju heard him clearly and nodded his head.

"Seems so, I've been here for years, living off of the vegetation and fruit in the forest. Now the good thing out of all this is that with each time I leave this place, my wounds slowly appear, giving me more time to get other essentials that I'd need that the forest doesn't provide me."

'_But at the price of shortening my lifespan.'_ He thought that last part to himself. Naruto was completely bewildered by this newfound information and took him awhile to process.

"Anyway, because of this little predicament I'm in, I'm not able to how Konoha has progressed, so tell about the village and yourself, especially why your parents let you stay out so late." Naruto interrupted from his thought, jolted a little, as he was snapped back into reality.

"Oh, um… the village is pretty much the same as it's always has I guess, from when you were Hokage. I mean, it's big, a lot of buildings. Recently I learned about all the clans that Konoha has and awesome ninja like you!" Hashirama chuckled at Naruto's enthusiasm.

"Really now." He smiled.

"Yeah, like how you beat up Madara and his clan during the clan wars, built Konoha, became the first Hokage. Nanami-san said you could control five beasts like the Kyuubi, all at once!" He emphasized his words by flapping his short arms. He snickered when he saw Hashirama laugh at him.

"Ah, well History really did a good job of recording herself, that's for sure. Now why were you training out by yourself that late, I'm sure your parents are worried sick looking for you my boy." The Senju was surprised to see Naruto crestfallen.

"I wouldn't worry about my parents looking for me; Old man third said that my parents died when I was born during the Kyuubi attack eight years ago. The only person who looks after me is Old Man Third, Teuchi-san, Ayame-neechan, and Iruka-sensei. Everyone else avoids me like a plague." The Senju's eyes held sympathy for the boy, but before he spoke to him Naruto continued to speak. "But that's why I was training as hard as I was yesterday. I'm going to become a ninja and rise through the ranks and become Hokage, and earn Konoha's respect. I want them to acknowledge me not only as one of their own, but as its protector. Whatever the reason maybe for why they separate themselves from me will change, believe it!" He shouted. Hashirama had to say, he was completely surprised by this boy's courage to gain acceptance within Konoha and protect it.

'_Wow, this boy holds deep within him the Will of Fire. But the way Konoha treats him, no doubt this confirms my suspicion, only an Uzumaki can contain _its_ chakra within their body, which is why Mito-chan sealed it inside herself. So it seems that the vessel that held it eight years ago had lost control and therefore _it_ was freed but why…' _

"Well then Naruto-boy, you certainly have the drive to become a ninja but it's gonna take much more than dreams and luck to get to the top." Naruto gritted his teeth; being scolded by an old man, even if it was the First Hokage, didn't tolerate with him.

"You don't think I know that? Of course it's going to take more than daydreaming. Iruka-sensei told me that 'to be able to gain the title of Hokage I'd have to walk a hard and dangerous road to achieve great things because there are no short-cuts.' So everyday I've gone out by myself and trained until I couldn't move. Iruka-sensei told me I had to study too, and now… I'm gonna start going to the library and read, even though I won't like it at all." He muttered that last part to himself. "So I don't need an old man like you, telling me what I already know." Naruto huffed at the past Hokage, standing up from the log.

"I'm leaving this place; hey old man, tell me where I'm supposed go, I have to go back to the village. I have to get stronger."

"Where are you going then, you're not going to leave your new teacher here are you?" Hashirama smirked, seeing Naruto pause in mid-step and turn around.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked not completely understanding what he was implying. I mean he did, but he wanted the_ God of Shinobi_ to confirm it for himself.

"I'm going to train and teach is what, Naruto-boy I see a lot of potential in you. Your remind me of myself when I was growing up your age. Back then my clan was constantly at war and I lost two of my brothers, Itama and Kawarama. So I had a similar dream to get stronger so nobody that I cared about would die. So I'm going to pass down the remaining power that I have to you." It took Naruto a couple of minutes before he registered the words that were said. It was pretty funny to watch the expressions on Naruto's face change like the colors in a pond.

"Y-you're saying that you'll teach me?" he stuttered. There was no amount of words that could express how he felt at that moment. He literally thought this was a dream. To be asked to trained by someone formidably strong and well known was a huge honor in itself, but to be asked by someone who was an incredible strong figure whose reputation for proceeded him long after his 'death' that was well over fifty years?! Yeah, Naruto was in a lost for and couldn't help but be overwhelmed with emotions of shock and happiness.

"Yes I will, I'll help make your dream a reality." Naruto let the emotions inside him get the best of him and cheered with the loudest cry he could muster.

"Yatta, I'll be the strongest ninja out there and soon I'll take hat from you Third Hokage!" Naruto pointed his finger at the sky in his declaration. Now that he was going to be trained by one of the strongest, there was no way that anyone could stop him now!

The Shodaime Hokage was thinking along similar lines as well. Give or take a couple of years, Naruto would be a force to reckon with. He thought back to when he saw Naruto train just before he slept. From what he gathered the boy was incredibly sloppy with his stance and technique in _Taijutsu_. Nothing that good ol' oil and grease couldn't fix, but the strength the boy carried fascinated him to an extent. However, with how things were going with the boy's training, it would all be a waste of talent and Hashirama couldn't let that happen. So he figured that by the time he was done _reconditioning _Naruto's abilities and _reinforcing _them, he'll be just as strong as his old disciple, Hiruzen was when he was done helping him. Hashirama stood by Naruto and placed his hand on Naruto's still form, getting the eight year old to look up at him.

"Alright Naruto, first things first; we need to work on your taijutsu. I saw how you were training earlier and although you have a lot of strength for your age, you're only wasting your stamina by putting all your might into one punch like a thug. With my training I'm going to teach you how to focus on manipulating your strength through a coordinated taijutsu style that I know that might suit you."

"A-awesome, when can we start Hashirama-senpai?" Hashirama looked into the sky; it was early in the morning; probably around nine.

"We'll start in an hour. The sooner we fix you up the better we can progress and teach you some strong jutsu. Are you ready Naruto? This will be the hardest thing you'll ever endure."

"I'm ready for anything you have, believe it!" Smiling at his new pupil he ushered for Naruto to follow him further in the forest. He was gazing straight ahead.

'_Now then, let's get started.'_

**AN: /**** Whew! ** **This had to be the hardest chapter I've ever done and probably the best one I've enjoyed writing so far. I had originally planned to have this chapter around 6000K words, but to my surprise I made it to 9000+ words! IDK about you guys, but to me that's a big feat. Sorry for the late update though and hopefully this will make up for it just only a little. I'll start on the next chapter and it'll be more interesting than this one, it'll have more action in it as well. I'll **_**try**_** to get it out sooner than this one since now I have a good start on the series and everything planned out, if I can make this chapter 9000K, I can make my other chapters the same or more right? Anyway thank you for reading and following me. It means a lot and please, please, please don't forget to Review. I want to know what you guys are thinking, ideas, and questions you may have. If you don't review, how am I supposed to know if you like the story or not? Sure adding and favoring it is nice and all but hearing you guys through reviews and P.m.'s make me happy. It's like getting a Christmas present, you don't know what you're getting but the thought counts, or at least I think so. Peace out guys and stay tuned.**

**Read, Review, & Enjoy!**


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